How did Israel eliminate the hijackers and rescue the hostages?

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]How did Israel eliminate the hijackers and rescue the hostages? May 8th, 1972, Sabina Flight 571 was flying from Brussels to Tel Aviv. During the flight, four hijackers, two men and two women, took control of the aircraft. They held 90 passengers hostage and forced the plane to land at Israel's law airport.

[00:00:20]The hijackers demanded that Israel release 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the hostages. Israel began negotiating with them and asked for one day to respond. But on the other side, Israeli commandos had already prepared a highly daring plan. Under the cover of darkness, two commandos and technicians secretly approached the aircraft and sabotaged its hydraulic system, ensuring that the plane would be unable to take off. By morning, the Israelis informed the hijackers that the aircraft had developed a technical problem and that takeoff was impossible. They told them, "We'll send mechanics to repair it."

[00:01:00]Since the plane was the hijacker's only escape plan, they were convinced and agreed. At that moment, 16 commandos dressed in white technician overalls and walked toward the aircraft carrying toolboxes. As soon as they reached the plane, the commandos took positions beneath it and launched a simultaneous attack on the hijackers. In the operation, the two male hijackers were eliminated while the two female hijackers were captured alive. The entire mission was completed in roughly 90 seconds and the aircraft was successfully secured.